They Don't Call It Cancer Free

Hi Everyone,

They don’t call it “cancer free”. What they do call it is “remission”. And today that is what I found my status to be. I am very excited about remission, remission is a very good thing for cancer patients. Remission makes me want to do cartwheels and smile a lot. And cry. And get down on my knees and thank God for my good fortune. I love remission!

I had a blood test on Friday so they could look at what they call tumor markers in my lung, liver and bones. If the enzymes in those areas come back with elevated levels then there is a chance that there is something wrong. It’s not always an indication that cancer is back but it makes the Dr. look for it with other types of tests. There are types of cancer that will not elevate the enzymes in these areas and can make it harder to detect. But, since breast cancer is one of those cancers that they have many tests for, they can pin point areas of concern pretty easily.

I will remain on hormone therapy for 5 years which will help battle the type of cancer that I “had”. Right now I am just gearing up for all the fun that hormone therapy provides. Hot flashes, hot flashes and more hot flashes. Alaska looks fabulous right now. I will see my oncologist every 3 months for the next two years, then every 4 months for the two years after that, then every 6 months for another two years and yearly after that. Pretty much for the rest of my life. Dr. Bowers told me that if I can make it 8 years without any more cancer then the odds of getting it again drops to 2%. 8 years is the magic number. Actually 20 years is, it’s kind of a guarantee then.

I have set up my next oncology appointment for the beginning of October and the next set of tests will be another blood test, a bone scan and a chest x-ray. If you remember from past updates, breast cancer can show up again in the lung, liver or spine, so they keep an eye on those areas.

So for the time being, I am going to enjoy being in remission. I will do my best to enjoy every day that life has to offer and not worry about what the next Dr. appointment brings. Let’s face it, I won’t be able to do anything about it any way, right? It’s going to be what it’s going to be. So I may as well enjoy the time I have because you never really do know. For those of you who I will see on the golf course, at Lake Vermilion or the Skydive Jump Zone, let’s go have some damn fun!

Thank you to all who have offered up prayers on my behalf, I can’t thank you enough for the blessings. I hope you all have a fantastic 4th of July weekend / week and have a fabulous day, because that’s my plan.

Love to you all,

Jen